Pakistani leader seeks Japanese nuclear cooperation ahead of visit

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ISLAMABAD, Feb. 19 Kyodo -
Pakistan's President Asif Zardari said Saturday that as Japan is negotiating a
deal with India to cooperate in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the same
cooperation should be extended to Pakistan.
''If Japan is willing to cooperate with India in nuclear technology and (is)
giving nuclear technology for peaceful purpose, I do not see any reason why we
should not deserve the same,'' Zardari said in an interview with Japanese media
on the eve of his departure for a three-day visit to Japan.
''I do not know what questions would be raised during discussion. It depends,''
he said when asked if he would raise the question of cooperation in the
peaceful uses of nuclear technology during his Japan visit.
Zardari recognized that the nuclear issue is very sensitive for the Japanese
people and government.
Neither India nor Pakistan are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty, and the nuclear talks between Japan and India have triggered an outcry
from survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who
fear such a deal would hamper global efforts to realize a world without nuclear
weapons.
Japanese firms, however, are keen to export nuclear power generation technology
and related equipment to India, which plans to build 20 new nuclear power
plants by 2020.
Zardari said Pakistan never wanted to go nuclear but it was forced to do so
when archrival India exploded a nuclear device in 1974 and then again in 1998.
He denied a recent newspaper report that the number of nuclear weapons
possessed by Pakistan exceeds that of India, saying, ''There is always a
difference between facts and fantasy.''
Asked if Pakistan seeks to expand its nuclear arsenal, the president said his
government does not want to see an arms race in the region and advocates a
nuclear-free South Asia.
During his visit to Japan, Zardari is scheduled to hold talks with Prime
Minister Naota Kan and meet with Japanese business leaders and companies doing
business with Pakistan.
He said he will strive to make the people and government of Japan aware of
Pakistan's situation and the challenges it faces.
Zardari projected Pakistan as a destination for Japanese investment, calling on
Japanese investors to make use of proposed economic zones in his country.
He urged leading Japanese automakers with assembly plants in Pakistan, which
exclusively cater to the local market, to export locally made vehicles to
markets in Asia and Africa.
There is also great potential for bilateral cooperation in the services
industry, he said.
==Kyodo